Psycho
by EmersFanFic
Summary: The secret Colony Ark S.T.R.A.T.A is kept secret to Mobius. Many Mobians don't know this except for the "Special Ones". Some Mobians have gifts and are sent up to S.T.R.A.T.A to train, and help them with their power. They never knew they'd have to one day, use them against an Evil that's been alive for thousands of years. (Time: After Freedom Fighters passed.) Supernatural Ark AU.
1. Introductions

Psycho

I

"Ugh, IRIS!"

Feeling drowsy, I woke up to, well, my sister. I should probably say half-sister because she comes from another dad, but I still call her sister. My dad is a Hedgehog, and so is my mother. My dad's main color is dark dirt green, and his undercoat color is a soft tan. He has light brown eyes and dark gold rings. (Rings are seriously just rings put on our wrists for extra energy. But I'll explain more later on.) My mother is has a pale yellow/gold main color, and her undercoat is basically the same as him. She has short light brown hair that goes down to at least her chin. Her eye color is a bold pink color, along with her flashy yellow rings. See, out of my parent's colors, you'd think I would look like them. I apparently got my great grandparent's color genes. I have a light grey main fur, and my undercoat is an extremely pale tan. I have a much darker shade of grey hair color, but not too dark. My spikes, or hair, go down to about my mid-back, and I have grown out bangs. I have pink eyes, (The only thing I have in common with my mom.) and light lemon colored rings. Most people mistaken me as a skunk, but I guess you could say I'm used to it. My mom and dad separated when I was 14, and a couple of years ago my mom hooked up with this other guy. He was a hedgehog too, but he has a dark blue main color and a darker tan undercoat. He has light seaweed green eyes and silver rings, along with some white tattoos here and there on his arms and back. They've been together for about two years now, and after the first year of going out, he proposed, got married, and my mom got pregnant with my half sister. She has a dark pale blue main color and a sandy undercoat, and she has a dark shade of pink eyes. She has long, strait white spikes that match with her rings. She's only 4 now, but she acts so mature sometimes it's hard to tell.

Rubbing my eyes, I got up from under my covers to look at my sister. I sluggishly scanned my window and saw it was still dark outside.

"Oh my god, Madison, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night!" I whispered. She got on her knees, smiled and bounced a little, "You have to see this!"

"See what?" She hopped off my bed and motioned for me to follow her. In the dim lighting, I could see her pajama white and pink-hearted shirt with matching pants. Her hair was a mess, but other than that she looked cute. Getting up, I straitened my black tank top, also fixing my pink and grey plaid night-pants. I followed my sister down the stairs to see what she was talking about. She rushed past our living room, our kitchen, and out the back door to our back yard porch. Once we got outside, I hugged myself trying to fight the cold breeze that hit me.

"What is it?" I asked finally.

"That!" She pointed upward with her little finger. When I looked up, I noticed what she was trying to show me. I saw thousands of meteors, and comets shooting through they sky. Many colors, red, orange, blue, pink, they were all lighting the sky. I stood there in awe with my sister for about half an hour before the shower stopped. I turned to face her and she had tears in her eyes.

"Hey…" I brushed my thumb against her cheek, "Why are you upset?"

"It's just, you have these rings that help you when you need them. I don't have them yet, and I was just thinking on how awesome you could be when you get them. I understand they're only for emergencies, but I still feel helpless sometimes." Remember that thing when I said she could sound so mature?

"I know, but we wont ever have to fight anyone, or do anything with them because we're safe. You'll get them in a couple of months, don't worry, and soon you'll be the bravest person ever. Even more brave than you are now, too." She sniffed, "You're leaving tomorrow, Iris. I'm going to be alone. I know you need to go do other things with you life, but sense I'm about 14 years younger than you, I guess I wont see you much." I pulled her closer to me and hugged her. She wrapped her small arms around my waist and placed her head on my stomach.

"Can you make a promise?"

"Of course, just what is it?" She lifted her head.

"When you need to use your rings, and when I get mine, could you teach me how to be as awesome, gorgeous, and brave as you?" I laughed, and when I say I laughed, I meant a full-on laugh. Madison just stood there with her arms on her sides, giving me a confused look.

"Oh-! Madison, dear, I love you so much. Yes, I will teach you my wise ways, but know it might not ever happen." Madison frowned, then placed both hands on her hips, "Ok miss wise-lady, I think you're getting grumpy and need to get some sleep. Are you all packed too? Do you have extra undies and your toothbrush and-?"

"Yes! Lets get to bed before mom and, umm," I paused, "dad think we were up all night."

"Okay." She then ran inside.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous to be moving away from my family. It would be fun, and I'll be with my friends. We all decided to put some of our money into a mansion, and we'd live together. The mansion was big enough to fit 5 families of 4, yeah, so we put some effort into getting it. Sighing, I walked back inside to my bedroom. Crawling under my sheets, I closed my eyes and thought about my promise to my sister. Would I ever need to use my rings? Ha, probably not, I mean, we're all safe. I know how to fight because my mom and dad paid some secret guy to teach me personal self-defenses. He even made me use practice rings so I could test the energy. It was ok I guess, but it felt awkward. I got to black belt, and he said if anyone had attacked me, I'd be able to defend myself perfectly fine. He informed my mom that I HAD to be fit enough, meaning eating the right food, exercising, and staying healthy.

Getting tired again, turned over and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	2. Hello

II

"Here are your bags, your passports, your extra rings, and here is all of our phone numbers incase you forget or-,"

"Mom!" I was carrying a waffle in one hand, and holding everything else in the other. Today, I decided to wear my normal look. Pink belly sleeveless shirt with some dark grey leggings. I wore pink and black convers to match also. My mom was wearing a laced blue and green flowered shirt and some navy jeans. My step dad then walked in with a black tuxedo on with a white tie. My step dad might look all bad and muscular, but he's just a boring lawyer on the inside.

"Ah… Iris, I wish you a good travel. Make sure to call-,"

"Already been said." I interrupted him. He smiled and walked over to give me a hug. His suit was nicely made so his back quills were firm under his clothes. Modern outfits I guess, but sense I don't have back quills I don't have to worry so much. Us girl Mobians have to worry about the hair and tails. Not that I care about any of those, but I'm just pointing out the obvious.

I pulled away from our lovely (cue sarcasm) hug. He's a perfectly fine Mobian; I just don't really like him. My mom "accidently" cheated on my original father when I was 14, like I was saying before, and then found this guy. We get along, but just enough.

I heard a honk outside our house and knew that was my friends.

"I have to go!"

"Bye!" My parents cried. Madison came running down the stairs and piled on top of me before I could reach the door nob. She was crying and squeezing me so much it was hard to resist. Finally she let go, "Don't forget our promise." And ran to my mom's side.

I walked outside, waved to my family once more, and closed the door. I turned around to meet my 3 best friends sitting in a Ferrari F430 Spider, and the top was down. I put my stuff in the back, and hopped in the back seat with one of my friends. There was Kathie, and she was a raccoon. She had brilliant yellow eyes, a pale purple main color with darker shaded stripes, and a light grey undercoat. She had black short-layered hair as well. Today, she was wearing some light blue jeans, white vans, Silver rings, and a short-cut white shirt. Another one of my friends was Octavia. She was a fox, and she had a bright red main color with a nice brown under coat. She was wearing a yellow hoodie, gold rings, a gold and orange skirt with tan flats. She had bold green eyes that stood out with her dark brown wavy hair that was clipped back. My last friend, who was in the driver's seat, was Lillie. She was a hedgehog like me, but with chocolate brown fur, a white undercoat, purple shorts, a pale purple one-strap tank top with black converse. She had a lighter shade of brown for her hair, which was put in a ponytail (like always!).

"Hey!" Octavia greeted me.

"Hey, ready?" Lillie asked me. I nodded and turned to Kathie who sat beside me. She smiled, and then looked forward. Lillie pulled off the curb and drove to our destination.

I got my keys out and opened the door, went back to the car to get my junk, and walked inside. My friends and I have already seen what this mansion looks like, so there weren't as many "awes" or "oohs" as before. My room was the last room, in the very back of the house, on the last level. I offered to take the master bedroom because I'm such a good friend. My room was biggest with it's own bathroom, walking closet, dining room (I don't know why you need it. I think it's for work.), and the bedroom with a huge plasma screen TV on the opposite side of the bed. All the rooms looked like this, but there's something that makes each room different. I put up all my clothes in the closets, and put up posters and pictures of my family and fandoms. I'm totally and utterly into music (except country or some awful contemporary pieces). For example, I could be in a serious conversation, and hear some music in the back round, and completely forget what was going on because I was so focused on the music. I also listen to music when I sleep, when I do homework, when I work or do chores, anything.

I heard a knock on my door, "Iris, we're going out to eat, are you coming?" Octavia asked me. Oh, right, dinner…

"I cant go, sorry. I have to call my family, and other stuff." She nodded then asked me again, "What do you want? We're going to get some pizza."

"Margherita, please." She was about to walk out when I called, "Hey! Don't go and be a hater! We're living together, it's not like I'm leaving forever." She smiled and left. I heard all of them complain, laugh, and close the door. Alone.

I got out my laptop from in my dresser drawers, and when to my Skype. It took a couple of seconds before they answered my call and my family was all huddled together in the kitchen.

"Iris!" They all chimed to me.

"Hey guys…" I ran my hand through my hair to make sure the wind didn't mess it up too bad, then smiled at them sheepishly.

"How is it there? Was it worth the cost?" My step-dad loathed the last part. My mother slapped him on the arm, "It WAS worth the cost, Garminius." (Gar-min-ius) I laughed when my step-dad frowned then went back to face me. "How is it?" I sighed, and he frowned at my comment.

"Iris E-,"

"It's great!" I absolutely hated it when people call me by my full name, _especially_ my step-dad.

"Where are your friends right now sweetie-?"

"IRIS!" My sister finally blurted out. "Are you awesome yet?" I laughed at her question. "No Madison, not yet."

"What are you two talking about?" My step-dad asked, and looked over to my sister. She gave him an evil grin, and ran to her room. He groaned in frustration, and then turned back to me. He was wearing a cropped jean sleeveless jacket and was wearing a small hoop earing on his right ear. Or left ear, I don't know.

"Iris E-," Again with the names!

"It's between us, and it doesn't concern you. She's not going to tell you, and neither am I. You can try, but I think we both stand ground." He let out a sharp breath in frustration, stood up, and left the screen. I laughed with my mom for a while, until she spoke up.

"Tell me."

"Madison and I made a promise that whenever I need to use my rings, I'd teach her when she got hers. She wanted me to teach her how to be as awesome as I would be, as brave as I would be, and as strong as I would be. I'm her roll model." My mother took a long breath in in awe, placing one hand on her chest. I rolled my eyes at her silliness, "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Love you."

"I love you more. Have fun tonight. Oh, and again, where are your friends?" My mom asked me.

"They went out to get pizza. They should be back by now, the pizza place wasn't too far away." My lovely mother nodded, "Well, I better get to your crazy father and your mysterious sister before they start attacking one another. Love you, have fun."

"Love you." And with that, she canceled our call. I sighed and put my laptop up, then went to lie on my bed. I just lay there for a while until I heard a sudden ringing coming from my IPhone. I quickly hopped off my bed and ran to my phone and hit accept.

"Hello?" I heard a muffled voice on the other end.

"Iris?" Panic overwhelmed me as I replied, "Who is this?"

"Iris, it's me… Kathie… We got in a car accident. A semi was driving in our lane, Octavia tried to avoid it, but it was going too f-fast… I'm in the hospital now, and the nurse said I could only have one call…" Tears filled me eyes, were my friends safe?

"Kathie, are they alright? Did you guys make it out ok?" I heard another muffled voice, Kathie's, and I heard deep intakes of air almost as if she were crying.

"No, t-they didn't make it, Iris… I was the only one who was in a better condition because I was in the back seat. I broke one of my l-legs and one of my arms. But other than that, just a couple of bruises and scratches from our impact." I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away.

"How long are you going to be in the hospital? I can come over if you like, all I need is the hospital name."

"I'm sorry Iris, but after I get some rest, the doctors are going to scan me for any more broken bones or any concussions. After that, my-my parents are going to pick me up and take me home." I felt something sink inside of me, causing more tears to form. "What are we going to do with the mansion?" I heard Kathie try to laugh, but she failed and started coughing.

"Iris, it's yours now. When I get home, I'm signing a contract saying you rightfully own the building. I guess you could c-consider it a gift, as one of greatest friends someone could have. I'm sorry we got into this accident, but-,"

"I'll be so alone… You guys were my greatest, and best friends too, but when you get home, message me and I'll come ok? I'll make this mansion a memory for our lost friends, and family." When I said that, it triggered something in Kathie and she started crying. "I miss you so much!"

"I miss you, too." I wiped my eyes with my gloved hand, and then took a shaky breath in, "Rest well, you need it. I'm so glad you survived. If I had figured out ALL my friends died in that car accident, then I'd flip. Oh! Do you guys know who was driving that semi? I'm asking because I'm going to sue his little-,"

"We did find him, and my parents have already sued him. We're putting the money in with the mansion. We got a couple million in, but I don't think it'll ever cost up to our friends lives. The man is in prison for life for an act of murder. Stupid fox didn't know what he was doing." I sighed in relief.

"Well, again, get some rest, you really need it. Talk soon."

"Bye… Um, love you." I smiled, "I love you too Kathie, sleep well."

"Bye best friend." And she hung up.

When she hung up, I threw myself onto my bed and sobbed the rest of the night. My friends were gone, and I'm alone in this huge mansion with A LOT of money.

The rest of the night was quiet. I didn't call my mom because I didn't want to say anything right away, and I was tired. I had gone into all my friend's rooms, collected all of their stuff, and put it in a storage room. Nothing was crowded in the storage room because it was about half the size of my room. Speaking of my room, I was laying under my covers on my IPhone, listening to music.

_Thud._

I pulled my headphones off, and listened for the noise. Nothing happened, so I decided to ignore it.

_Thud._

Annoyed, I paused my music pulling off my headphones and wrapping them around my device, put it on my dresser, and listened for the sound again. This time, I heard a loud crash. Maybe glass, wood, or stone, I had no idea except for something was in my home. I got up from my bed and opened one of my drawers. I took my rings. I put them on quickly, and then I heard distant noise like something was moving fast, and close. I felt my pulse raise the slightest bit, but I wasn't too scared, just annoyed. Who ever had the nerve to break into my mansion at this time was crazy.

I heard quiet footsteps outside my room. I took a step closer to the door, ready to see who was outside. A slight tap on the door confused me until my poor door exploded. I covered my face with my arms, and when everything settled down I dropped them. A dark figure was standing at the entrance. Dark galaxy blue and black clouds were surrounding the mutant so I couldn't identify who it was. The figure sprinted toward me, faster than I could ever run, and stuck out one of its hands to grab me. When it grabbed my arm, my instincts took over and I punched the figure where the stomach would probably be. It hunched over and was about to straiten itself out, but I quickly grabbed what looked like an arm, twisted it backward, then put pressure upon the figure making it flip and fall smack on it's back. Or it's face, I wasn't sure. The mutant groaned, but the groan was barely audible.

"Who the hell do you think you are, breaking into my home, and touching me?" I snapped under gritted teeth. The clouds around the creature were fading, but they were still muggy. It got up quickly, before I could react, and took some steps away from me. The figure fixed itself so it was taller, and stood there. I didn't need to use my rings, I thought to myself. This _thing _is a coward.

Then, it sprinted back toward me, but I just barely dodged it and the dark figure crashed onto my dresser. The mirror that was connected to the wall fell on top of it. The clouds were thinning, I could tell because I saw a faint outline of the Mobian in them. It sprinted toward me, ducked, and grabbed hold of my hips forcing me on top of their shoulders. I wrapped my legs around its body frame, and jerked my head forward in hope I could flip myself under. A loud thud filled the room as the creature slammed onto the floor. I put one knee on the Mobian's chest and the other on the outside, one fist in the air, and one arm pressing onto its throat. Any wrong move and they would get it. The clouds disappeared completely and I was then face to face with a black hedgehog. He had an almost white tan undercoat, light yellow rings with grey cloth wrapped up about 3 inches on both arms, and silver streaks on his quills. His eyes were a storm dark, diamond bright blue. I stared at his frowning figure for half a second, and then pressed my arm harder against his neck.

"Let me repeat myself. Who are you and why are you in my home?" Still frowning, he didn't say anything. I rolled my eyes, "If I took you down so easily _without _my rings, I wonder what it would take to finish you off _with _my rings. Unless you don't want to answer me, care to figure out?" He exhaled sharply.

"Maybe if you'd get off me, I would." I frowned. This could be a trick. Reading my thoughts, he added, "I'll answer you if you get off me." I hesitated, and got off him. He straitened his posture while dusting himself off, and then took a step closer to me; he was about a foot taller than me.

"Who are you and why are you in my home?" I repeated for the third time.

"Wow, no wonder they chose you. You're impossible." I frowned, "_I'm _impossible. How would you like it if some stranger broke into your house and attacked you." I paused. "Who chose me for what?"

"S.T.R.A.T.A." He said casually. Strata? Strata like the rock layers in Earth strata? I gave him a confused look.

"I don't know what it stands for, but it's a secret spot located in space. It's this huge spacecraft, and only the best can get into its government. You happen to be on the list, and I happen to be the Mobian who has to take you there." I shook my head.

"No, I'm staying here." He took a step closer.

"Iris, come to S.T.R.A.T.A with me, or I'll have to do it the hard way." How did he know my name? He did say I was on a list, so maybe they showed him it. How was I even on a list in the first place? "Get away from me, freak." He looked down at the ground frowning, then looked back up to me.

"Please don't make me do this, Iris. It'll be better for the both of us if you just come with me." I took a step back. He took a step forward. Wow, there is just no reasoning with him.

"What are you going to do to me if I decline your _generous _offer?" I said sarcastically. I took step closer then, glaring daggers at the stranger in front of me. "I'm not threatened by you. Now, please, get out of my house before _I_ make you leave the hard way." His face showed no emotion. Suddenly, the pressure in the room felt off. I frowned and looked down to see his rings were glowing and the dark milky clouds surrounded him. He was going to use his rings! I can't believe this, what a cheater. He jabbed his hand out and grabbed my arm. I knew I couldn't take him if he was using his rings, and I'd have to use mine to beat him. I really didn't want to use my rings yet, and I wasn't ready either. I faced him, shocked by his eyes again. This time, there were mysterious sparks in them that had me paralyzed there. He was still emotionless, but he held a slight frown. Maybe guilt? I finally got out of my trance and was about to get out of his grip, but the dark clouds covered both of us and everything went dark. 


	3. You're Awake!

III

Oh! My HEAD. If that freaking guy hit my head, when I find him-

"You're awake? You aren't awake, but you can hear me." The sound of a slap filled my ears. "Listen up, when I count to five you are going to open your eyes but do not look into the light. Keep your eyes open, just do not look into the light." What kind of request is that?

"One…" Wait, I'm not supposed to look into the light. What if there are multiple lights?

"Two, three…" I don't want to wake up, and my head feels like someone dropped me ON IT.

"Four…" The voice said warningly. Here goes nothing, right?

"Five." I shot my eyes open, and a blinding light instantly was in front of my face. Keeping my eyes open, I tried avoiding where the Mobian was aiming the light. My eyes started to water, but I kept them open. About ten seconds later, the Mobian turned off the light. I shot up, and rubbed my eyes.

"Fascinating… Most newcomers don't ace that test on their first time. Lucky Orsyko (Or-si-co) brought you here. Welcome, Iris." Orsyko… I've never heard of that-

I shot up again, and looked around the room. All white walls, no windows, a cabinet full of prescription, drugs and more (still all white), a white bed, and a white hedgehog in a white lab coat standing in front of me with a flashlight in his left hand.

"Where is that sick bastard, and if I ever find him, o-o-o-oh! He'll be praying he never laid a foot in my house!" The guy laughed.

"You will see him VERY soon, actually." He blinked, and his silver eyes changed into a chocolaty brown. I wasn't shocked, which was odd. He laughed again, "Miss, if you don't mind, could you stand up?" I got up off the bed and stood up. I was a little light headed after, but it quickly faded.

"Yes, we're leaving."

"Where? There's no doors nor windows in here." I raised one brow. He shook his head and make a "tsk, tsk" noise.

"Don't flip out and attack me when I touch you."

"Wait! What-!" He jerked his hand and poked my arm. I squinted my eyes as the world around me morphed and spun. His hand was still on my arm, which annoyed me, but I let him keep it there because I had no clue what was going on. When everything slowed down and I could gain my balance, I opened my eyes. We were in a hallway, plainly grey and black. It gradually looked down each end of the hall, and the outside was glass. I gasped when I saw space outside. I slowly walked toward the window, looking at the galaxies and planets that were scattered. Tears filled my eyes when realization hit. I wasn't at home anymore. I slowly edged to the floor and put my knees to my chest. I stared blankly at the wall in front of me, ignoring the black hedgehog that walked up beside the medic. I took in a deep, shaky breath and tried to sum-up what was happening. Dark blue specks of clouds flew around the halls. I felt more tears form as I thought about my family and friends I left. I was breathing more heavily when I noticed pink clouds forming around me. Shocked, I got up to my feet. I wiped my eyes quickly, embarrassed that they saw me like that, and looked over to them for an answer. The medic dude didn't answer me; he just raised his eyebrows. I looked over to Orsyko for an explanation. He smirked and pointed to his rings. His rings? I looked down and saw _my_ rings were glowing. Still breathing heavily, I took a step back, running into the glass wall. I turned around, and faced the dark, wondrous Universe. I put one fist on the glass and placed my forehead onto the large window. So this is it, I thought to myself. I'm stuck in the Universe, I somehow turned on my rings and I can't even show my sister.

I felt a presence behind me; I ignored it. They placed a hand on my lower back, and guess what happened next? Remember the thing I said about how my rings are _on?_ Yeah, I love it.

"WOAH!" The medic yelled after I punched Orsyko through the wall. From the sounds of it, he crashed through about six different walls. I guess that's my new record. I walked toward the hole to check it out. I stuck my head in and saw empty multi-colored rooms. The rooms looked like storage rooms. One for…Guns, one that held a desk and about a billion sheets of paper, another with glass bottles full of liquids. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

I had to squint my eyes to see a faint glow near the end of the damage.

"Ha! That was bloody BRILLIANT, Iris! Well, too bad Orsyko doesn't have a temper." I turned to face the white hedgehog. "Why would I care about that?" He laughed.

He shrugged, "He's had a tough life, and I guess he could relate to you in a way." I nodded. I understood I guess. I'm not used to people, especially guys, to touch me. Only my friends and family have ever touched me because I'm very self-conscious.

I saw Orsyko walking toward us, covered in dust, water, and…rocks? His rings were glowing, and he hung his head as he walked toward us. He frowned at me, I frowned back, and then he turned to the medic guy.

"Yemma-," He then tilted his head toward him and whispered something in his hear, he nodded.

"Iris, please come with me." Orsyko said, and I shook my head.

"Your name is Yemma?" Yemma nodded, smiled and walked off, so much for my own decisions. I mean, I guess I'm stuck on this ship.

I followed Orsyko into another room. While we were walking there, he was wiping and dusting himself off.

"Come in here."

"Yup…" He walked toward a door, and it opened automatically. The room had one king seized bed, a desk, dresser, it's own bathroom, a mini fridge and kitchen, and a dining table. Everything was stormy blue, grey, or black in this room. I automatically assumed this was his room.

"Make yourself comfortable, you're gonna want it. We have _a lot _to discuss."

"Nice room." He shrugged.

"They personalize the rooms to your liking. They had a lucky guess." I took a couple of steps toward the dining table and sat down. I frowned, "You seem…familiar. I cant quite put my tongue on it." He flinched at my statement, and then sat down next to me. Orsyko sighed, "Okay, I think you already know what this place is. I think you already get that it's a secret headquarters but I don't think you know exactly what we do here." He turned in his chair to face me, but I looked down at the table. There was something happening in my head that I couldn't explain. Orsyko seemed familiar, in a… bad way. I just don't understand.

"Yeah… We're not spies or anything. We're not assassins, but I guess you could call us mutant agents. We all have a special ability, but some of us don't figure out what it is until later on." I tilted my head to face his.

"What's yours?" He winced, "I can… umm. It's hard to explain. The easiest way to explain my ability is to just say I can teleport." I bit my lip.

"But-ah… those clouds. Before you took me here, there were these stormy dark clouds surrounding us. That was coming from you, wasn't it?" I didn't mention the rings because I didn't think I had to. He turned away.

"Yes." The room got silent, and I placed my hands in my lap. I felt my spikes fall over my shoulders, and I lowered my ears. Sighing loudly I asked, "Do Yemma and you know what my ability is?" Orsyko shrugged, "Not a clue. We normally figure out right away, but you're different." Well, that helps.

"We take certain classes like fighting, and some special-add classes. You have to be smart, clever, and athletic so every night we have one big win or loose event. Nobody knows what the event is except for the head council because they plan everything. The events _have_ to include a puzzle, an obstacle, combats and so on. The head council assigns team leaders, which is normally four to five, and then the leaders choose their groups. Before the event starts, they have to agree that the groups are fair game." I looked up to his smiling face. He looked over at me, "My team always wins."

"And is it obvious how they won?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He smirked and leaned back more onto his chair to get comfortable.

"Maybe." He wiggled his eyebrows and laughed quietly, "Ok, anyway, there was a leak in the council and I know what tonight's event is going to be." I looked at him expectantly.

"Are you good at labyrinths, Iris?" I gasped.

"I _love_ labyrinths! I have trophies for coming first place out of them!" I smiled, proud of myself.

"Nice, glad that I'm also going to be team leader tonight also, so you'll be my first pick." Wait what?

"I'm joining tonight?"

"Well, yeah. You might be new, but new comers always get to do these events. It's to see what you're capable of. For all we know, this could help us figure out what your ability is. But most importantly, sense you'll be on my team, I have no doubt we'll win." I'm the key to winning, nice to know.

"My schedule, do you have it?" He nodded and stood up. He walked into another room for a minute or two, and then came back with a sheet of paper. He placed it onto the table and slid it in front of me.

"The main council made me your guide, so we have all of our classes together. The only problem with that is if you hate me at some time in your life, you'll be stuck with me." He said smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"Pity me."

"Already do." I frowned. We both laughed for a couple of seconds before it got quiet again.

"We have six classes per day. One of the periods is a free one." I looked down at the sheet of paper in front of me. My first class was Fighting Practice 101; the next one was AP Gun. Some of these had pretty weird names.

"Phycology isn't what it sounds like, just be warned." Orsyko said.

"What is it really about then?" I asked, tilting my head to the left.

"Well, it… you'll figure out later, I promise." Thanks! That really helps (cue sarcasm there.) I rolled my eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?" He knit his brows together in confusion. He nodded slowly, "What is it?"

"Do I have to go to all of my classes _today?_" He shook his head, "Today, we both get off. I have to take you to each of our classes so you could experience what it's like, but you're not allowed to participate in any of it. The only thing we get to do today is the night event."

"We? You're stuck not doing anything too? Doesn't that seem a little bit unfair?" I lowered my shoulders.

"No! It's fine! I volunteered to stay with you. Though I didn't volunteer to pick you up…" He muttered the last pat to himself. Too bad I heard him.

"You're cool." I randomly said. I bit my lip, how embarrassing. "I mean, when I first met you, I didn't even think you were a Mobian. I thought you were a part of some kind of hallucination I was having. You won't stop touching me, and that annoys the crap out of me. You seem strong, but there's something to you I'm going to figure out. I don't know what it is, but its there. It really is."

"Don't." He blurted out. I saw the surprised expression on his face that matched mine. "If you do, you'll regret it. Just know me for me, get to know me, become my friend, and enjoy my presence before you do that." He sighed loudly and leaned his arms against the table. Still looking at him fuddled, I un-bit my lip.

"Sorry. I should've kept it to myself."

"Better that you said it out loud, now I get to hang out with you longer." He shrugged raising his eyebrows. He paused, "Time to go."

"Where?" I asked.

"Fighting Practice 101 of course!" We both got up and left his room.


	4. New Friends

IV

"Lights please!" Yemma asked. I saw a girl snap her fingers and all the lights shuttered off. Rushing in the dark, I quickly paced toward the "medic".

"I thought you were a Doctor, or a Nurse or a Clinic guy or something!" He laughed. I felt Orsyko's presence behind me, his scent filling my sinuses. I shivered at his nearness, at everyone's nearness. _Not like you can see them or anything. It's pitch black._ Ugh, I can just feel it.

"No, I teach skills and agility!" He exclaimed, his heavy Australian accent marking each word. I smiled.

"Even better!" I cried. I felt a finger poke my shoulder. I quickly grabbed it and bent it back.

"Ahh- hey! I was trying to get your attention!" Orsyko complained.

"For what?" I felt him grab both my arms and pull me closer, "Don't punch me."

"What-," Orsyko pulled me into a spot that was less populated. It was still dark, but I could still feel his hands on my arms, and his breath on my ear. He was standing behind me, but he was right next to me.

"Forgot to get you Mobian clothing." He whispered.

"Mobian clothing? I'm wearing Mobian clothing! What do you mean?" I turned around so he wasn't behind me. I also pulled his hands off my arms because I felt uncomfortable.

"Traditional Mobian clothes. You _are _wearing Mobian clothing, but you need to add more… light to it. It helps with your ability or your gift, what ever you want to call it."

"Okay… so it helps with my gift. But how?" I felt his breath hit my face again, bringing shivers to my arms once more.

"Certain chemicals are in them, and so on. You umm… you have to wear it. It's sort of like uniform I guess, but different with every Mobian." I nodded, but I doubt he saw.

"So I change clothes?" After I asked that question, I felt his presence tense up. I turned around to face him. I saw him turn on his rings as they started to glow, giving us some light. Looking his figure, his face was emotionless like always.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. They might change other stuff, like your quills." I gasped.

"Not my quills!" I frowned with him. "I don't know, but most of the time they give you your Mobian clothing, it has something to do with your _gift._ Sense we don't know what yours is, we'll do it tonight." I nodded.

"After the Labyrinth right?" He shook his head. "But not exactly after. There's always something happening after these events like arguments, fights, and so on. They give us an hour time span. Not like I couldn't fix that…" He mumbled the last part to himself. Too bad I heard.

"What do you mean you could fix it? Do you mean fix the time?" His eyes widened.

"Uh- no…"

"Does it have to do with your gift? I know you can "teleport", but when you say teleport, do you mean through time and space as well?" Bingo.

"Ah- can we _please _not talk about this here. I'd feel more comfortable if you'd stop asking." I put one hand on my hip. "So we'll talk about it later?"

"No."

"There's really no reasoning with you is there?" He quietly chuckled, "I'm not the only one." I grunted in exasperation.

"Fine."

"What should I call you?" I crossed my arms over my chest as he took a step closer.

"Nothing. Why is it so dark in here anyway?"

"It's so dark in here so you cant see the attackers! Duh! What kind of question is that, Iris?" Yemma called from across the room. I could feel everyone's gaze trying to find me. Embarrassed, I lowered my head to listen. I heard a snap from the side. I poked Orsyko with my finger and motioned him to listen.

_Thump._

"It's probably not one of them. I don't really participate in these." He whispered into my ear.

"Orsyko-o-o-o!" I heard someone cry. With my sensitive ears reacting, I put my hands over them and shut my eyes. I heard muffled voices through the loud ring in my ears.

"Wrong…" Orsyko said after I uncovered my ears. Through the muggy light radiating off of his rings, I saw another Mobian. She was about his height with wavy tangelo colored hair. With her tan fur, she had tall feline cat ears with a gold band around one. She wore a dark vermilion cocktail dress with the same gold band outlining the edges. The dress fit her figure nice with her matching flats; on the head of the base held two red diamonds. She had bright gold eyes with silver rings as well.

"Hello! I'm Mesoku, the Cat." She said chill, holding out her hand. I took her hand and shook it. After I shook it, she squealed and pulled me into a hug. "I've heard so much about you! We're going to have so much fun!" Still shocked I looked to Orsyko for an explanation.

"Hmph." He shrugged.

"Wait, if you've heard a lot about me, you know my name already?" I asked the she-cat. She nodded.

"Yes! You're Iris the Hedgehog, right? You're the rich one?" I froze.

"H-how did you know that?" She laughed and jabbed a thumb in the direction beside her. That pervert!

_Not really a pervert. He did find you in a mansion all by yourself, it's fine for him to assume. _

Shut up, me.

"How many people have you told this to?" I asked vigorously.

"Ehh…" He calmly smirked, "About three people. Just close friends though."

"If they're so close, do they know what your gift is?" I asked, annoyed. After I asked that, I ticked him off. He just stood there, emotionless as Mesoku watched.

"He- umm… No, we don't know. Sense we're close, we've learned to accept his mysterious ways." She spoke up. Mesoku giggled and came up to him, locking her hands around his arm.

"CAN we do something interesting instead of mourning over Orsyko's disabilities?"

"My what-!"

"YEMMA!" Mesoku screamed.

"Yes?" He called.

"ARE WE ALLOWED TO ATTACK YOU? YOU _COULD_ BE THE ATTACKER FOR ALL WE KNOW!" Silence…

"Okay guys, ready?" I flicked my head to her after the ringing died down in my ears.

"For what, and please stop screaming."

"Yemma is the attacker. Lets go!" She grabbed my arm and I unconsciously growled. Orsyko chuckled as we both got dragged across the room. He turned off his rings so it was back to being dark, to keep our cover.

"Orsyko, what's the event for tonight gonna be?" Mesoku asked, still dragging us.

"Labyrinth. I'm one of the five leaders." She laughed quietly, "Our group's gonna be the leaders aren't we?"

"Your group? Who's your group?" I asked.

"Orsyko, Malkom, Barley and me! Now you too, silly!" I frowned.

"How did you guess something so… correct?" He asked the cat.

"Umm, I'm not sure. Though, I'm positive Iris here, sweetie, you wont be a leader. EEK! I can't wait for you to be on my team!" I grunted out loud.

"No, she's going to be on my team. You're not going to be first picker anyway, I am."

"WHAT?" She cried, "The first time in forever and I don't get to choose first. The mini does!"

"The mini?" I finally spoke up. We came to a stop and Mesoku let her grip go, except for Orsyko's arm.

"The mini," She lit up her rings and pointed to Orsyko, "here looks almost exactly like M-."

"Nothing." He hissed. She shrugged it off, but I didn't. I stood there watching as the cat walked up to a desk and kneeled down. Following her lead I whispered in her ear, "Tell me later." She quietly squealed, and Orsyko frowned. I stuck my tongue out at him, and then started focusing on the dark. Looking ahead, there were only splotches of light coming off of other Mobians' rings. I noticed something move in the dark, tall ears and a coat. I nudged Mesoku.

"Is that Yemma?" I questioned.

"Umm… where?" She shook her head, "We should call Barley."

"BARLEY!" Orsyko called loudly making me cover my ears again. You'd think they'd notice you're in pain, right?

_Nope._

The figure jerked their head toward his call and in a flash he was gone. I gasped as a mint green glow formed in front of me. I watched it form into another Mobian, a dog. He had the same mint green glowing eyes with a darker shade lab coat on. He had dark chocolate brown fur with a milky brown undercoat. Barley had long fluffy ears and a long fluffy tail. He wore silver rings with white and mint-tipped shoes.

"Yes?" He asked.

"This is Iris, say hi." Mesoku said.

"Hey." He smiled at me. White teeth. Who would've guessed that, sense he looks like he lives in breath mints.

"Hi, I'm Iris. Too bad I didn't get to tell _anyone _my name myself. I have such good friends."

"She admits we're her friends!" Mesoku squealed. Barley rolled his eyes.

"I can tell. When you're stuck with us, we all have each other's back. Plus, Orsyko, thanks for messing me up. I had Yemma in my grasp and when you called me, I lost him." Orsyko gave Barley his signature smirk.

"Anytime." I saw a glance of white near a wall not to far away from where we were located.

"Found him." I called and ran off. I paced through the crowd before I was with my target. When I saw him, I wasn't sure what to do. Should I go confront him?

_No, smart one! This is Fighting Practice 101 for Pete's sake! You need to attack him._

I then sprinted toward the figure, lab coat and everything, and pounced onto him making both of us fall onto the floor. Cries and laughter spread through the black room as our teacher yelped. He laughed, and snapped his finger making the room light up again. Blushing, I sat down next to him and closed my eyes.

"Who did that? Whomever found me, and took the will to jump onto me, show yourself!" I sighed. Mesoku and Orsyko ran and pushed everyone to the side of them when they got upfront. Barley materialized from his glow shortly before. The three then looked down at me. Mesoku smiled, Orsyko showed no emotion (of course) and Barley snickered. Shocked, Yemma looked down and noticed me with my embarrassment and all.

"You, Iris… You found me? How did you find me?" He asked in his heavy accent.

"I- umm…" I looked up and smiled. "You're not too hard to find, to be completely honest." He frowned.

"If I was so easy to find, how come NOBODY ELSE thought about finding me?" As I got up, a fox walked up.

"You weren't. My friends and I were seriously right beside you, and we didn't notice you." A large part of the class agreed.

"How did you notice me?"

"Same with noticing Barley, I saw his figure."

"You saw me?" He cried, "I thought my new invisibility spell would work!"

"It did!" Mesoku said, letting go of Orsyko's arm and wrapping them around Barley's now. She turned back to Yemma.

"I remember her asking me about finding someone right before Barley showed up." I nodded adding, "And when you materialized in front of me, you had the same tall ears and tail I saw before." Everyone gasped.

"Now, now." Yemma began, "She's new-,"

"We know." The crowd stated. "Hmph!" He wined.

"New abilities, new powers, new gift." Orsyko said. There were some "oohs" and "ahs" through the crowd after he said that.

"Wait, can you guess on what I have?" I asked Yemma. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah- no. Sorry. I haven't heard of a gift that can make you see through spells-,"

"Run super fast-," Mesoku added, "and pounce onto me from a good distance." Yemma finished. I frowned.

_Ha-ha, almost as if you were an animal._

"The running and pouncing, I can explain all of that so it doesn't mean anything." I felt everyone lean closer to me, wanting an answer.

"Yes, my brother did tell me that you trained with him for awhile." Yemma said.

"Y-your brother? He didn't look anything close to you." He flattened his lips. "I mean, no offence!" I quickly added.

"It's fine! Different father."

"My mom-."

"Your _dad._" I froze. I haven't talked about my dad in almost five years. Noticing my sudden state, Orsyko stepped forward.

"I'm assuming you mean our old Arts teacher, Ian?" There it was, that name. I swallowed hard as I saw Yemma nod.

"Yes, and he had a beautiful daughter that he knew was special." How embarrassing is this? We're talking about my life with about fifty Mobians tuned in.

"Ok, we get it." I quietly snapped. I turned down and faced the floor, suddenly interested in it's complexity. Our teacher heard and walked up to me.

"Class dismissed, thank you for your time. Homework is to look up that invisibility spell Barley used." The class groaned and walked out leaving the five of us to talk.


	5. Salad Bar?

V

"O-o-o-h! You know, I think you'd look cute with tips." Mesoku pointed out. We had just left Yemma's classroom, and were heading to our free class. She was convinced that I had to go to their salad bar. I couldn't back out.

"I just messaged Malkom to come over." Barley told us as we sat down. I wasn't very hungry, so I was just poking my salad with my fork.

"Great! Iris, why aren't you eating?" Mesoku asked me. She comes off… strong sometimes.

"Just not hungry. Why aren't you barking at Orsyko for not eating and just me?" I said, poking my fork in her direction. She laughed, "Yeah, he's hard as a rock. There's no breaking him."

_Not like I couldn't break him… _

Who are you?

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late." Said a white bat. He had Byzantium colored bat wings, grey wings, and purple shoes with a darker shade of purple circles on the top. His eyes really bothered me… His _actual _eyes were an even darker shades than Byzantium, with his pupils a light lavender. It was odd to look at, but I quickly got used to it.

"Iris, this is Malkom." Orsyko said. Malkom walked over to me and stuck out his hand. I reluctantly took it out, remembering the last time I shook someone's hand I got a surprising hug after. He had a strong grip, and I saw his neck tense up. Maybe he's not the touchy type, like me. I know how he feels_._

_Of course you do. You hang out with us now._

Whoa. How did he do that? After letting go of our shake, I gave him a nervous glance, then turned back to my un-eaten salad.

"Mesoku, you broke her." He pointed out. She frowned and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, "No I didn't! Yemma did. He just had to bring up her dad."

"And now you bring it up…" I muttered. I felt something poke my arm and I turned to my right to see Orsyko looking at me. He stood up and gestured I follow. Sighing, I got up leaving the other three to argue. He grabbed my wrist, not too harshly, and pulled me out of the bar. I got irritated he was touching me, and I wanted to pull off but I didn't know where he was taking me.

"I just thought you'd want to go and see your room instead of being embarrassed." It's almost as if he could read my mind.

_Not as much as I think Malkom can…_

"How do you know where my room is?" Still pulling me forward, he turned around and gave me a pitiful look.

"Do you not remember I'm your guide? I'm _supposed _to know where everything is. And you're room is part of it!" I laughed, "Right." He came to a stop at one of the round doors in the hallway. Taking a deep breath in, I pulled my wrist free.

"Don't touch me."

"Here's your room." He took a step closer and the door opened.

"If anyone walks this close to the door, will it open?" He smirked, "No. You need a key, smart one." He took off his glove and pulled showed me a small rectangle key. It almost looked like a scan-card used in hotels.

"Okay, so when am I going to get that from you?"

"You get your own."

"No. I don't want you to have an extra key to my room, you pervert." He ignored me and walked into the room. I grunted and joined. My room looked almost exactly the same as his, except mine was pink, black, or any other shade of grey. Leading up to my kitchen, the floor was lifted about six inches, with three steps surrounding its perimeter. I gasped and walked around.

"You weren't kidding when you said they make it to your likings. They so-o-o got lucky on this."

"They didn't guess. I told them." I frowned and faced him.

"What do you told them?" He shrugged, "When I went into your house, your room mostly had these colors and I automatically assumed. You also look like it with the pink eyes, black and grey complexity."

"Using big-boy words now are we?" I shot back annoyed, placing both hands on hips.

"I'm sorry, do you not know what complexity means? It means-." I smacked him playfully on the arm and started to look around my room more.

"I love the closet! We _have _to go shopping sometime soon! You guys have a mall here, right?" Orsyko shook his hands back and forth, "Whoa! I'm not going shopping with you. Also, to answer your question, we do have a mall. Surprisingly…" I shrugged him off and walked toward my bed. My bed had a pink blanket, black covers and base with blood-shot red pillows. Enjoying everything, I jumped onto my bed landing on my back. My quills flew everywhere around me; on top of my shoulders and spread everywhere else. I was spread eagle on my bed when I felt my body sink toward a slant. I turned to see Orsyko sitting down with his elbows on his knees, looking down at the grey-carpeted floor thinking.

"What's wrong?" I sat up and sat Indian style beside him.

"Just thinking." I frowned. Playfully, I started to bounce my but on my bed making both of us move. Orsyko turned his body around and gave me an amused look.

"What the hell are you doing?" He smiled. I smiled back, "You seemed down, so I wanted to do something about it."

"Hmph." He shrugged and turned around.

_Well, that was a waste. _

He stood up and offered me a hand and I hesitantly took it. Helping me up, I ignored fixing my blanket.

"Nice room?"

"Yeah. What class do we have next?" I asked him.

"We have Math, so nothing new." I moaned dramatically and stomped out of my room.

"I don't know how I would've survived college…" I muttered.

"I agree. This is much worse." After walking out, the door closed by itself. I turned around and faced him as we walked down the halls.

"How long have you been here?"

"Longer than you think."

"So about three years?"

"No."

"Five?"

"No." He said disgusted.

"Four?"

"No."

"Then how long?" I cried. The only other options are two and one, and he said longer than you think. What the heck!

"It's hard to explain." He said, raising his eyebrows to see our friends run toward us, and with friends meaning Mesoku who engulfed Orsyko in a hug. I wonder if they're together…

_Nope._

Where'd that come from?

When Orsyko finally pulled the cat off him, he turned to Barley.

"Where were you two?" He asked us. Malkom took a step closer and rolled his eyes at me. That sick bastard…

"In her room."

"WHAT?" Mesoku wined. "I wanted to see her room, too!" I shrugged.

"I had no choice." I could grow on these people I guess. It's hard to though when my ears are always ringing with pain. I mean, I like Mesoku in all, but sometimes she can be loud and my sensitive ears can't take that much. "Yeah, while you two were arguing, Orsyko showed me my room."

"Your favorite part?" Barley asked me. I put one of my hands onto my other arm. "The closet, but there were no clothes."

"SHOPPING DAY! OH MY GOD, WE HAVE TO GO SHOPPING TOGETHER, IRIS! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!" Mesoku squealed with excitement. I lowered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for my ears to calm down.

"Hey, calm down, she's hurting." Orsyko said. I sighed, my eyes still closed and my ears still down. Mesoku walked up to me and softly pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. It's amazing how she's all hyper one second, then completely calm the next. She sort of reminds me of a-

_A fire? She should because that's her ability. The main council members decided to take her off her prescription for a week to see what happens. _

_That's awesome. I'm assuming yours is telekinetic stuff? _

_Yeah… I can read minds and so on. It's a lot to explain, but it's enough._

_Ah… You know, you guys touch me a lot._

_Sorry about that. _

Silence.

_Open you eyes now, okay?_

And with that, I opened my eyes and saw Mesoku looking at me worriedly. I smiled sheepishly, "Sensitive ears." I pointed to one of my ears incase they didn't understand. I looked over to Malkom and smiled at him. I might really start to like him; we have a lot in common.

_Thank you._

_Get out of my head please._

"Lets go to classes guys…" I spoke up. Everyone nodded and parted ways. Orsyko was by my side of course, but so was Malkom. Grinning, I slipped my hands into both of theirs. Interesting…


	6. Lets get this over with

VI

"Teams leaders." A squirrel said in a white cloak, along with nineteen others. They started naming off, "Orysyko will be the first leader." I heard some cheers come off from the couple-hundred Mobians. "Second in Barley. Third is Mesoku, and last is Malkom." I uncovered my ears and heard the squirrel continue.

"Orsyko, begin." I saw the four of them walk a good distance away from each other, and I assumed that was because there were so many of us that we'd get crowded.

"Iris." I knew that was coming. I walked toward him; most of the eyes were on me. Getting self-conscious I kept my gaze down. When I was next to him, he gave me his signature smirk. It was about half an hour before teams were chosen. I wonder how big this event will be, because there's a lot of Mobians here. When I say a lot, I mean A LOT, in the hundreds.

"The teams are even, clean, and we are ready to start." Said a Walrus in a white cloak. He spread one of his arms out and we looked at the direction he aimed for. Just a minute ago, there was a huge room. The room was a dome shape with glass surroundings. After the Mobian dropped his arm, the dorm magically grew en times its original size. I blink and one of the entrances to the Labyrinth stood in front of us. Huge bushes stood at the sides of the arch the start made. I tried looking further into the Labyrinth, but I had no success.

"There are four entrances, one exit. Your goal is to make it to the heart of the maze, collect the prize, and safely find the finish." There were loud cheers coming form Barley's team.

"GET TO AN ENTRANCE." The squirrel announced. The teams quickly started to part and walk forward to their destinations. Oyrsyko swung his arm above his hiead, motioning we follow.

"I guess there's going to be four groups this time. I wonder what made them change their mind." He told me as he checked behind him to se if everyone was following.

"How many leaders were there originally going to be?" I asked him.

"Six." I frowned, "Then who'd they take off?"

"You wouldn't know them." I rolled my eyes.

We finally got to our starting point, and five of the council members were at each start. They all stood there for a second before saying in unison, "GET READY." I took a deep breath in, trying to calm myself down. This shouldn't bee that hard, right?

_You know you're always wrong._

Shut up.

I looked over and saw Orsyko give me his signature smirk, and I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this, but by the looks of everyone else, they were.

"YOU MAY ENTER." And we were off.


	7. Labyrinth

VII

When we ran inside the Labyrinth, there was a sheet of paper clipped to a bush. I picked it up and read it.

_To help you, I suggest you find a COM. They will help you communicate, unless you feel like you'd do better by yourself._

_-Yemma._

I rolled my eyes and searched around if there were any. No luck. I folded the paper and put it inside the bush. Running, I found myself in a dead end, or I thought. I took a step closer to the bush and found something inside. I quickly put arm in and felt my finger brush against a box. Pushing my arm deeper into the bush, I finally had hold of the item and pulled it out.

"Yes!" I whispered as I opened the case and pulled out a COM. I fixed it on my ear right, and hit a button. It was static at first, but a voice came in.

"Hello?" I asked singing the "o".

"Iris. You catch on fast. I'm glad you're on my team- are you at the center yet?" I scanned around and saw engravings in the dirt. I gasped and ran into the leaves in front of it. The bush opened up, leading me to another path.

"I'm good! No, we just started."

"And? You said you were good. Now I'm disappointed." Orsyko pouted in my ear. Grunting, I headed into the next path.

"So you got a COM, the next thing is an obstacle I'm assuming." Still running, I looked to my right and left, making sure I didn't miss anything.

"Why would you assume that? Couldn't they put it in any order they'd want? How big was that leak you were talking about?" I heard muffled voices of other Mobians entering our chat.

"You're a bat! Fly your way around the mud, Kathie." I heard a Mobian complain.

"I'm not going to be hearing all of this am I?" I asked Orsyko, at least I was aiming my question toward him. I came to a stop when I saw a trip wire. I slumped my shoulders. Are they even trying? I stepped over the string and continued running. Springs pushed out of the bushes near my head, and I had to duck to miss being hit in the face. I kept ducking until I got to a four corner. I decided to take a right, because choosing a favorite could always be helpful. It was a longer patch, but the floor was muddy. The mud then turned clean, and soon I was walking through water. The water came up to my waist, but it only slowed me down a bit because I had been trained to do stuff like this. I took a left and found myself at a dam. It wasn't too big because I'm in a Labyrinth. I climbed over the edge and found myself back on the grass. After that, I took so many turns and went through so many obstacles I couldn't remember how many there were. I wonder when the plain floor turned to grass in the first place…

_You okay? _Malkom asked in my head.

_Yeah, I'm good. That's right, I only told Orsyko that I'm amazing at this._

_Labyrinths? Who knew? You have a COM?_

_YES._

_Just making sure! I hate those, so many Mobians talking at the same time._

_More like complaining. _I ran up and found myself at a door about eight feet tall.

_Hey, what happens when I get to a tall door? _I asked him.

_You're already at a door? _

_Yes… _I knelt down and traced my finger against some incarnations.

_You weren't kidding when you said you're good. You're at the center. _I mentally cheered for myself.

_I thought it'd be harder. I only had to go through water and other things like the bushes tried to decapitate me._

_The hardest bit is when you get in, and leave. That's how teams normally loose._

_Ah… Okay, shut up, I'm working on the door._

_Ha, ha, ok, good luck!_

"Orsyko, I'm at the center door. I'm assuming this is the puzzle?"

"Wait, you're already at the center?" I rolled my head around in frustration, "Answer me."

"Yes." I scanned over the incarnations one more time. They look like…

"I understand it!" The pictures carved where Roman Numerals. I've never worked with Roman Numerals before, but sense today in math we work with them I'm a beginner. What did the "V" with the "I" stand for again? I think I have to put them in order… There were about six spheres implanted into the door, and I guessed you'd put something in them. I looked at the Roman Numerals again. There were ten, counting. I placed my gloved hand onto one and it shifted to my weight. Smirking, I pushed with more force and the pebble disappeared into the door. I waited for a second before the same stone came out of one of the spheres. I pulled it out and held it in my palm. I'm still wondering if I need to put them in order. I accidently dropped the rock and it crumbled into about three more pieces. I picked a chunk up and it was marked the Roman numeral "C". Oh no… That means there are a hundred of these. I frowned at my mistake. Ugh! I wish I could be like an elephant so I could just break down the door!

_Be an elephant._

Shut up, me… Wait, what if I could be an elephant? Ha! How stupid does that sound? Frustrated, I threw all the pieces of rocks on the door, and the door surprisingly crumbled into bits. I dropped my jaw as I saw the way to the center.

_Malkom, are you there? _I desperately thought.

_Yes._

_I broke the puzzle door._

_How? _He asked me, sounding amused.

_It's a long story. I was frustrated that I couldn't open the door because of the stupid "C" Roman Numeral sign and all the other ones, and I sort of wished I was an elephant. But then I thought that was stupid and I shrugged it off, and then I threw all the pieces at the door, and it broke. _

_I don't know what to say with that. _

_What?_ I cried, but I got no response. I stuck my bottom lip out as I started to run inside. I walked up to a pedestal with a glass box that held a small thumb drive in it. How modern, right? Hesitantly, I poked the box with my gloved hand. The drive started to glow vigorously then got sucked into the pedestal leaving me wondering what was next. I felt the floor around me rumble, my bones shaking violently with the rhythm. The bushes that separated everyone slowly decayed and left an open floor. Many Mobians looked confused until the glass box shone and a giant boulder fell from thin-air. Fidgety, I looked around and found Orsyko running toward me.

"Run." He pulled on my arm and jerked me away from the giant rock that was about to flatten us.

"What do I need to get to show that we win?" I asked over the roars of screams.

"I'm not sure. What did you see in there?"

"A drive, and a-a glass box." We jumped over a large puddle of mud.

"Did you get the drive?" I shook my head, aware he still had grip of my arm. "No time, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to get the drive without breaking the glass box and being crushed." The grass floor cracked beneath me and I yelped. I snaked my arm free from his grip and ran past him.

"What do you think we should do?" I squeaked, the boulder closer now. "Not sure, but I think we're going to run out of space." I grunted at his reply.

"Take a left!" Mesoku screamed across the room. I turned around and saw what she meant. The rock had sped up and was about to take impact. I stopped. Orsyko slowed down eventually after he noticed I wasn't following.

"What are you doing? We need to go." I ignored him and watched as the grass stuck to the stone.

"The stone isn't going to stop itself. I know I'm new, but I'm not stupid." Mesoku came up and clutched my arms, "What are you going to do about it? That things ten times your size and we _just_ became friends!" She stuck out her bottom lip.

"I really don't know what I'm going to do, honest, but I think I'll come up with something! It won't really crush me… Right?" As we heard the boulder's roar get louder, they both shook their head in disagreement.

"Fine! But dear, if you die don't say I didn't say so." Then, they both ran off but kept their eyes on me.

Panicking, I watched, as the boulder was seconds away. What do I do? What am I supposed to do? I felt something bubble in my stomach, then through my chest to my head and I felt dizzy. Gaining my balance the best I could, I stood still as many mobians gave me questioned looks as they passed me.

This feels weird; this feels really weird, I thought to myself. Something clicked in my head and the second before the boulder crashed into me; everything went black as I fell to the floor.


End file.
